Advances in automatized schedule generation at the VLBI operation center DACH and introduction of the VLBI correlation center at Wettzell

Abstract

Two newly established VLBI components, the Operation Center DACH and a new VLBI correlation facility are introduced. The Geodetic Observatory Wettzell (GOW), jointly operated by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), was accepted as an IVS Operation Center (OC) on November 19, 2019. This addition complements BKG’s substantial contribution to the IVS and its continuous and long-term VLBI observation programs. Recently, the OC in cooperation with ETH Zurich (ETHZ) and TU Wien (TUW) added automated ¨ schedule generation to its capabilities. This cooperation within the institutions operates now under the unified Operation Center with the abbreviation DACH, unifying BKG, ETHZ and TUW. The assigned VLBI schedules for this operation center are generated with an innovative approach consisting of a Python framework (VieSched++ AUTO), which allows to fully automate the generation of highly optimized schedules with VieSched++. The complete workflow is designed to gather and evaluate all master files, calling the VieSched++ scheduling application and also upload the selected schedule files to the IVS data centers. Additionally, a new website at BKG shows the complete history of all scheduled sessions, including quality oriented parameters with graphical compa isons. Furthermore, an outline of the new VLBI correlation facility at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell will be presented. This includes technical specifications, milestones and timelines.